A momentary diversion

I had planned to write about weaving.  Truth be told, I have always wanted to write a food blog.  I know, there are thousands of online food blogs.  And some win awards and big prizes.  One food blog I have followed for over a year is Orangette.  I was curious about the name and I enjoy her writing.  Turns out, the author, Mollie Wizenberg, won the James Beard Award in 2015 for Best Individual Food Blog.  Who knew?

Okay, back to the food blog.  My life, as a person with Type 1 ( juvenile, insulin dependent) diabetes for the past 55 years, is focused on food.  That's not the full picture.  The 3 essential pillars of diabetes care are food, exercise and insulin.  So, my life is centered on all three.  It is a balancing of all three elements and food is the most complex.  People with Type 1 diabetes are dependent on insulin.  The amount of insulin you take in a day is based on your food intake and your level of physical activity.  If you overeat, you need to exercise or take more insulin.  Somehow food always seems to be at the center of things and calculating the amount of insulin needed is not as straight forward as you might think.

For instance, if you eat a slice of toast for breakfast, you figure out how many carbohydrate grams are in that slice of toast and take enough insulin to help your body digest the toast.  But, if you put peanut butter on the toast it can slow your digestion of the toast and the insulin is working while your stomach is still working on the toast.  The insulin, most of which is fast acting, is available to digest the toast but the toast is napping because the high fat content in the peanut butter has slowed things down.  In a worst case scenario, the insulin causes your blood sugar to drop too low too fast and you experience low blood sugar which requires you take fast acting sugar to restore your blood sugar to normal.  Then, a couple of hours later, the toast and the fast acting sugar arrive on the scene and the insulin is long gone so your blood sugar goes too high.  Very complex and all because you wanted a dab of peanut butter on your toast!

I could spend weeks explaining all the exceptions and issues that arise in my efforts to balance my food, insulin and exercise as I try to maintain my blood sugar in a "normal" range.  I could spend several more weeks talking about the history of insulin delivery, home blood sugar monitoring and balancing the 3 basic pillars of Type 1 diabetes.  Then, I could spend several more weeks talking about the goal of all this careful control and the devastation of diabetes complications.  I guess it wouldn't really be a food blog but a diabetes blog which would turn into a diary of my daily struggles.

That's when I stop myself from discussing food and especially food and its effect on my life.  I spend a lot of time balancing my blood sugars and writing about it doesn't seem at all interesting or fun.  Now, reading Orangette and learning about food and its preparation from someone else's perspective which I enjoy.

I'll return to posting pictures and writing about weaving tomorrow.  It's much more fun and easier to explain.  And, I'll have this blog post to remind me why I don't write a food blog. Plus, I enjoy reading Orangette and looking at recipes on several other food sites.

I'll leave you with a photo of the band I took off my backstrap loom a few days ago and I'll talk about the 2nd band I worked on using my backstrap.

Why weave?

I started weaving in 2005. Actually, my first encounter with a floor loom was in 1973 when I attempted to weave on a Glimakra Standard that was the only piece of furniture in my friend's New York City townhouse living room.  My only recollection was how enormous it was and how awesome it felt to toss the shuttle across the warp and catch it on the other side.  I now own that same loom and still enjoy tossing the shuttle across 45" of warp and catching as it emerges on the other side.

Laverne & me

Although weaving is now a permanent part of my life, I still wonder why.  The answer is all around me. So many wonderful things have happened to me because I took up weaving.  Most center on the people I have met through weaving. We speak the same language and never have to answer the question at the title of this post.

When I began to call myself a hand weaver, I looked around for others who were obsessed with this craft and found the Yahoo groups.  I soon became frustrated being unable to post pictures and add files easily to the posts I wrote on the various weaving boards.  It was fun connecting with other weavers and reading about their struggles and successes and I wanted to see their woven items.  I do believe a picture is worth a thousand words.  I wrote to Syne Mitchell, former publisher of Weavezine, and asked if she was interested in starting a social network, like Facebook, specifically for hand weavers. She declined due to the time constraints of her writing and referred me to Tien Chiu. And that was where Weavolution began.  Soon, Alison G. came on board to help manage the financial part and the three of us launched Weavolution a year later. A year after that, we launched a very new and improved Weavolution which still thrives under the new ownership of Erica and Oli, two American ex-pats living in the UK.

The founders of Weavolution.com

Claudia, Laverne & Janet at MSWF

It doesn't end there. I met so many wonderful people on and around Weavolution. I attended more fiber shows such as Maryland Sheep and Wool (MSWF), Rhinebeck, Shenedoah Fiberfest, etc. I spent time with store owners, vendors, distributors, wholesalers, yarn reps and more. They became my peer group and, as Weavolution grew and improved, my weaving (and my health) suffered. In September 2011, Erica and Oli bought Weavolution and Alison and I walked away from the day-to-day and became regular citizens and advisors to Weavo.

I now spend most of my time weaving, spinning, knitting and lurking on Weavolution, Facebook, LinkedIn, Yahoo groups and other social networks.  I volunteer for the Spinning and Weaving group that is part of TNNA.  I enjoy spending time in my studio on a broad variety of projects.

Claudia warping a  Schacht Flip

Introducing people to these time honored crafts of knitting, weaving, spinning and crochet is very humbling to me.  Think about if for a moment; every piece of fabric we encounter is either woven or knit.  Everything!!  So when I ask why weave?  It's quite simple, we weave because we can.  

Classes available online SOON!

Here's a beautiful example of pebble weave woven on a backstrap loom by a friend.  I love the vibrant colors and the complex design.

In our busy world, we often find it difficult to add one more thing.  Taking an entire Saturday to learn to weave for three weeks in a row seems like a very big indulgence for most of us.  Saturdays usually represent errands, grocery shopping, catching up on the mail, bills, kids soccer/track/lacrosse games, etc.  And, if the weather permits, there is always work to be done in the yard.

To better meet the needs of our busy world, I am going to be offering online, LIVE, in person weaving classes in the evenings and on Saturday and Sunday.  This option allows you to stay home, take care of your chores and enjoy a couple of hours a week to learn a new craft.

What will you need to take a class online?  First, a microphone and speakers (built in to most computers manufactured in the past 5 years) and a webcam.  I purchased a webcam that sits on top of my computer screen.

I use the earphones and microphone that came with my iPhone for speakers and a mic.  It works very well and many have commented that the reception is very good.  Most cell phones come with earphones and a mic on them.  Check out the accessories in your box or check your computer.  You may be surprised to find you have a built-in microphone, speakers and webcam!



So, on to the classes.  I am still formulating the lesson plan.  One thing is clear, you will need to have a rigid heddle loom.  If you live near my Poolesville, MD studio, you are welcome to come over and borrow one for the class.  If not, I can assist you in choosing one to purchase.  Some local fiber arts guilds have looms to rent.  That's a good place to start.  What's a fiber arts guild?  Weavolution has a list by state and country of local guilds that help people with an interest in a specific fiber art (spinning, weaving, felting, knitting, etc,) to communicate with each other and develop their skills.

I will be offering classes on rigid heddle weaving.  All levels and topics will be available and most will be taught by appointment so you can base it on your schedule.  Classes will be 2-3 hours long and will take place online via video conferencing.  More details available soon.  Stay tuned and feel free to leave comments.